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Red Espresso – Rooibos Tea Espresso

Ben — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:40:33 +0000

This came in the mail and oh yeah, its a sample for us courtesy of Red Espresso. Please note we are not paid for this blog post if that matters to any of you.

Actually there is a specific way to write the name of this unique product. It is not Red Espresso …

… it is red espresso. That is what I noticed … they made the word “red” red all the time and spelt them all in lowercases. Weird. But smart. That’s branding at its finest if you ask me.

red espresso is the world’s first espresso made of tea. It is made with Rooibos tea which is gaining popularity around the world and we had read about them before. So when red espresso asked if we would like a sample, we said sure. We were curious and wanted to see for ourselves what the fuss is all about.

What we found out was that Rooibos has all the versatility of espresso coffee. With this you could make latte, cappucino, americano, white mocha and even iced tea with apple juice. They even trademarked the red espresso names so that when you ask for these items below, it means Rooibos tea from red espresso:

red latte
red cappucino
red canadiano (he he he … not Americano!)
red symphony (is actually white mocha)
fresh red (iced tea with apple juice)
iced red (iced tea)

Before I continue, I want to point out that these pictures here are all mine. How did you like it? It is not exactly pro level but I am pretty pleased how they all came out.

Anyway, you can prepare a red espresso in a few ways. You could use an espresso machine, a stovetop espresso maker, a french press or even a drip coffee maker.

I don’t have an espresso machine at home. I had always wanted to buy one but Suanne kiboshed that idea because she said does not have anymore space in her kitchen. So we opted for the next best way to make this. We bought ourselves a stovetop espresso maker (above).

So I did a bit of research. Apparently the Rolls Royce of stovetop espresso makers are made by Bialetti. But Bialetti are so expensive with some fancy models costing over $100.

I found the basic one above in HomeSense. It is less than $10. Cheap but it works the same. He he he … I hope this is safe! OK we admit. We are noobs when it comes to this thingy. So, please don’t roll your eyes as I attempt to explain the basics OK?

With the stovetop espresso maker, you basically prepare your brew on top of your stove burner. The pressure from the boiling water will apply sufficient pressure to express a thick concentrated coffee from the beans. There are three sections: on the left is the boiler where the water goes. The middle part is the metal filter for the coffee (or in this case the red espresso). And on the right is the chamber where the espresso is collected.

It is a simple device. It is also the way the Italians make their espresso as I was told.

The Rooibos tea looks kind of like …
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A Tribute to Our Soldiers on Remembrance Day

Suanne — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:52:59 +0000

Why Do Whites Accept Japanese and Thai Cuisine More Than Other Asian Cuisine?

Ben — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:47 +0000

About a month ago I introduce two of my very white colleagues at work the experience of eating Chinese Hot Pot at the Top Gun Hot Pot in Burnaby. In that post, I wrote about my curiosity why despite them being Canadians living in a cities (Vancouver and Toronto) with a lot of visible Asians, that they still have very little experience in enjoying authentic Asian food.

This picture sparked a discussion in a food forum. I thought it was fantastic but apparently to most this is the grossest thing they had ever seen.

Below is a comment that a reader of Chowtimes wrote in response to my question. Dyn’s comments has to be the mother of all comments for length (Thanks Dyn!). I thought it deserved to be elevated to a post on it’s own and perhaps some of you could also chip in with your two cents on this. Here is Dyn’s comments in its entirety:

I myself love every Asian cuisine I’ve tried (Japanese, Cantonese, Szechuan, Vietnamese, Korean, Shanghai, Punjabi, Pakistani, Lebanese, Syrian, South Indian…) – East and West Asian, that is. However, to answer your questions based on my own experiences and those of friends (and those I’ve tried to convince to try book-tripe!):

First, reasons why people are unnerved:

1. Media scaremongering.
There’s the recall freak-outs all the time, plus every bad comedy involving Asia inevitably has the Asian character eating something uncommon or gross to the western palette.

2. Unfamiliarity.
Organ meats are classically foods of the poor, and since most Westerners have had the privilege of being relatively wealthy (and developing cheap, processed food early on), those foods are not appealing to the young. On a related note, those of us who are the children of the baby-boomers or the grandchildren or children of those who lived through the Great Depression had to hear, growing up, terror stories about organ meats and a number of other things, so that adds to the issue. Also, alot of Northern European cuisine that came over with our ancestors was very, very bland, so to many the pungent smells of Asian cuisine are as offputting to Westerners (at first) as the smell of cooking pork is to alot of Asians (I seem to recall reading that there’s a word in some Chinese dialects for the smell of boiled pork?)

3. Looking Silly
Chopsticks are a bit of a learning curve, and people worry about making a fool of themselves, especially when thinking of…

4. Price
it’s not immediately evident to alot of Westerners that that $20 they see is for a family to share the dish, as Western restaurants (beyond some Amish ones in the Eastern US) are not communal in nature. Most Westerners do not realize that 3 dishes for a family of 4 with rice comes to an economical $10-15 per person most of the time, and possibly much less. Those who do know this will tend to want to go in groups and might not want to look silly per #3.

And now the issues that are not so much the people’s fault:

5. Translations
It can be a bit frightening to have a poorly-translated or badly translated menu, especially for would-be new folks. To their credit, most Asian restaurants do indeed endeavor to provide a translation for at least some of the dishes (see #7), but half the time they seem to be using a dictionary from the 1800s. An example of this would be, let’s say, “Yue Choy with Doufu and Fish Maw In Soup.” Let’s say this is a plausible dish. Some might get “Doufu” is “tofu”, but very few will know “yue choy” (which could easily and correctly be called “mild mustard greens” or “Chinese broccoli”) and even fewer will know what a maw is, and for those that do? Maw gives a very poor idea of what the cut/type of fish actually involved is. Similarly bad are one-off’s like “in sauce” or “in spicy soup with noodle” – what sauce? You have more than one, surely? Which soup base? Enough experiences like this can put someone off, especially if the menu doesn’t try and be descriptive. Worst-case, they’ll order a “safe” western dish, which may very well be poorly cooked and leave a bad taste in their mouths, so to speak – a local Westernized Chinese food place near me has lovely authentic Chinese food available (with names like above!), Westernized Chinese food, and hamburgers – anyone foolish enough to order their hamburgers will never return!

6. Hygiene
This comes down to two issues: first of all, the cleanliness. Asian restaurants seem to have a …
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Office Potluck — October 2009

Ben — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:30:13 +0000

At work we have a social committee which is pretty active. They organizes various events to build relationships at work. Some of the events that they organizes very well is the hockey pool and the office potluck.

We do this once every quarter and it is always a success no matter how many times we do it. This is one event that has the most participation of all events.

The way we do it is to randomly split the office into two groups. Each of the two groups will be contributing to one potluck. So there are two potlucks held on different dates and everyone contributes on one of the potluck but gets to eat on both potlucks.

Everyone can contribute to the potluck by bringing a homemade dish. For anyone who doesn’t want to bring a homemade dish, they can buy them or pay $20 so that the committee can use the money to buy on their part.

At the end of the potluck, the Social Committee will put up an online poll to gather votes for the best of categories.

My contribution this time is Baked Char Siu Bau. Actually, it was Suanne who made it. You guys know I don’t cook. Suanne makes really moist Char Siu Bau and am glad to say it was one of the favourites. This is not gonna win any prizes this time — that much I can tell you though.

If you want the recipe to this, you can find it here:

I used the dough recipe from here: http://chowtimes.com/2006/03/15/cinnamon-buns/

and the char siu filing from here: http://chowtimes.com/2006/03/28/char-siu-bao-part-1-of-2/

After the buns are made, let rest for 30 minutes and brush with beaten egg (egg wash).

Bake in a preheated 325F oven for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.

After the buns are made, let rest for 30 minutes and brush with beaten egg (egg wash). Bake in a preheated 325F oven for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.

This dish above looks set to be the winner this time. This is called Russian Sushi!

I don’t know if this is a made-up name or what. But it sure looked the prettiest.

This is another pretty unique dish. I wanted so much to try it but when it got to my turn, they were all gone. This is …
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Make a Difference

Suanne — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:21:29 +0000

I know this has nothing to do with food but I came across this video that is so moving that I simply had to share with you. Get a Kleenex and click Play.

Suanne

Complimentary Dessert from Tamarind Hill in North Vancouver

Ben — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:00:17 +0000

Hi All:

How would you like desserts like this … for free?

Coconut Crepes from Tamarind Hill

Tamarind Hill will be giving a complimentary dessert for every $35 spent in their new restaurant in North Vancouver.

We visited the Tamarind Hill on Lonsdale Ave about two months ago mainly because we wanted to check out if this new restaurant was as good as the popular restaurant in New Westminster. It was … even though the North Van restaurant is smaller than the first one in New West. We had blogged about our experiences here:

The first Tamarind Hill on 6th Ave in New Westminster
The new Tamarind Hill on Lonsdale Ave in North Vancouver

I wanted to let you know that our visit to the Tamarind Hill in North Van was unannounced. The staff did not realize who we were during the visit even though they noticed our camera. I think they assumed we were tourists because they asked us where we were from.

We paid for our meal. We are not paid in kind or money for this arrangement. We did because we wanted to give value to chowtimes readers — that reason and that reason only!

Tamarind Hill only realized that we had visited their restaurant after we posted our experiences on chowtimes and wrote to us about it. We took the opportunity to propose something that will benefit all parties … a free dessert to drive chowtimes readers to go out of the way to give Tamarind Hill a chance to show what they have to offer.

The details are simple: …
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How To Make Bento and Get Your Kid Ready For School in 5 Minutes

Ben — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:37:47 +0000

This is so funny that I just had to share this you.

The Japanese crazy creativity never ceases to amaze me. I came across this YouTube video from the KookyCulinary who in turn actually it from another blog called Just Bento.

The video is in …
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Emirates Airbus A380

Ben — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:39:50 +0000

Here is something about travel and a little about food too. I received this series of pictures from the folks at work of the new Airbus A380 of the Emirates. I think you will enjoy marveling at these pictures as much as I did.

Working in the airline industry we are very well aware of the buzz caused by the Airbus A380 when it was first delivered to Singapore Airlines. With the Airbus A380, the Emirates has taken air travel to new heights.

The Airbus A380 is the worlds largest passenger airliner in the world. Each plan can carry a minimum of 500 passengers. It can even squeeze in over 800 passengers if configured to be all economy class.

The plane is not only wide body but it is also fully double decker. So, not many airports are configured to handle the passenger load that big. For instance, the Airbus A380 require a airport gate with at least three aerobridges to make sure they can move that many passengers without excessive lines.

I get to travel business class on mission if I need to work directly with the airline. I still remember the awesome flight on Singapore Airlines’ Raffles Class which I blogged about here.

The Emirates is a whole new thing altogether. Too bad I am managing only internal projects these days or else I would want to volunteer to work with the Emirates!

The Emirates even has a shower spa! Can you beat that? That would come in handy for a 12 hour flight from Toronto to Dubai for sure.

BTW, you know how much First Class from Toronto to Dubai and return costs? It is sixteen thousand dollars … $16,000 Canadian. Come to think of it, it is not too expensive considering the same 1st class flight on Air Canada is already $13,000.

Alright, I’ll let you enjoy these pictures. The food images are at the end of this post …
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Seville: Hotels in Spain

Ben — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:47:39 +0000

We don’t normally post about hotels but we will make it an exception this time. This is because we were so pleased with the hotels in Spain throughout.

We were particularly impressed with the hotel in Seville. Even though it was a last minute booking, we managed to snag a hotel called the Best Western Cervantes Hotel right in the middle of old Seville. It was just €50. We did not expect much especially with a “Best Western” name to it. We selected this primarily because of the low price, location and the reviews we found on Trip Advisor.

The Cervantes Hotel is located right in the old city. Despite the name, the streets were meticulously maintained and kept spotless clean. It was a quiet section with hardly any cars. One thing that struck us is how narrow the streets are here. It is just enough for 1 car.

View Larger Map
It is hopeless having a map of Seville. Look at it. We got more lost using the map than not using it. After a while we just threw away the map and just ask for the general direction. It is a good thing that the old city in Seville is small. You can easily walk to all the major tourist sites.

We had come to learn to rely on the blue H signs outside of all hotels. That denotes the star ratings of the hotels in Spain. I learned from our guide book that hotels are highly regulated. When you see a three star, you really get a three star hotel. (US hotels are the worse I find when it comes to ratings).

They have the room rates posted clearly on the check in counter. It is a requirement by law to protect guests.

Regardless, when you book for a room, compare the rates between what is available on the web (expedia, orbitz, hotels and such) and direct with the hotel.

Here is our experience. We started off with 3 nights in Barcelona. When we wanted to extend our stay to 6 nights, we were quoted by our travel agent €150 per night — we said thanks but no thanks. When we got to Barcelona we asked the hotel and was told it is €110 per night. I then checked the web and the lowest quote I found was just €75. So, I booked the additional nights on my notebook (connected to the hotel’s wifi) right there and then at the hotel checkin counter. They were cool about it.

If you care to see, here are some of the shots we took of our hotel in Seville:
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Seville: From Barcelona via Girona on Ryanair

Ben — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:10:56 +0000

I am picking up from where I left off on our vacation in Spain this summer. This is a continuation from our first stop in Barcelona (link to to the entire series here).

After spending six days in Barcelona, I was flip-flopping about where to head to next. On one hand I think Suanne would love London but I also wanted to go to Morocco. Alternatively, we could go to Seville with the primary objective of dining at the alternative El Bulli.

So I went and try to book a flight to London. But it was so expensive when I booked it just 2 days before. The cheapest was something €300 per person return. So it immediately kiboshed the idea.

As for Morocco, the flights were cheaper. So we asked the people at our hotel and they advised that we should not travel especially when we are not with a group. We did not want to follow a tour group because we don’t like being brought to shops and stuff. Our guide book also said pretty much the same thing — third world country and needing to be careful about being fleeced, etc. Moreover, Suanne is not too keen for that kind of adventure.

So our decision was hinged on getting a table at the El Bulli Hotel in Seville. After three days, we got a confirmed table for a Friday evening. That clinched it. Seville it is.

It was really last minute. We decided to fly from Barcelona to Seville instead of taking the train. So we booked a flight on Ryanair, a no-frills budget carrier at €85 per person. It was not a very good idea!

Firstly, Ryanair flies out of the Girona-Costa Brava Airport which is a good 90km outside of Barcelona. It did not occur to us to check before we booked the flight. Good thing that there is a regularly scheduled bus from Barcelona city center to the airport. The one hour bus ride costs €12 per person.

The airport was like a market! There was thousands of people. The check in process is really confusing that caused to line up twice — once to check in and another time to pay for the extra luggage we had (€20). Budget airlines are not really cheap if you are not careful of the extras that could add up.

We were so afraid of missing the flight because the line was moving so slowly. We managed to get it all done with 30 minutes to spare. So we decided to grab something quick to eat since it will be quite late by the time we get to the hotel and settle down.

The above is €14. If you do the conversion, it is $22 Canadian. On hindsight, we should have bought something before we left for the airport.

This is a series of complains. Sorry for being negative here but the flight was really bad. Here goes …
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